Santander to close 95 branches

Santander has confirmed that 95 branches across the UK are to be closed down.

According to the high street bank, more and more customers are choosing to do their banking digitally.

In fact, since 2019, it has seen:

• a 63% increase in digital transactions
• a 61% fall in financial transactions carried out in banks

As a result, Santander plans to close nearly a quarter of its branches from June.

This will bring the number down from 444 to 349.

The bank will also remove the front counters from 18 branches and reduce hours at 36 branches.

Click here for the full list of bank closures.

Santander’s announcement comes after Lloyds announced 136 closures in January.

What to do if your local bank closes

Santander has confirmed that 93% of people in the UK will still be within 10 miles of a Santander branch following the closures.

The bank will also continue opening “work-cafes” - hubs where customers can access banking services, take out cash and use as a workspace.

In addition, Santander will continue attending banking hubs.

These are sites where several banks all operate from the same building. 

You can go there to speak to someone from your bank and manage payments like direct debits, as well as withdraw and deposit cash.

Banking hubs work on a rota basis, which means staff from different banks operate there on different days.

As well as Santander, the following banks are currently taking part in the banking hub scheme:

• Bank of Ireland UK
• Barclays
• Danske Bank
• HSBC
• Lloyds
• Nationwide Building Society
• NatWest
• TSB
• Virgin Money

Banking hubs are opening across the UK regularly, so check to see if there's one near you. 

And if you have more questions over what to do when your local bank shuts, read our handy guide for more information.